Of late, my friendships with non-Christian friends has been threatened by my simple invitations to attend church with me or my invitations to talk about Jesus. Nothing more and nothing less. A simple invitation.
I'm sure you have all seen the "Coexist" bumper stickers. The notion sounds wonderful. Religious tolerance. But what does that really mean? Does that mean that Christians are meant to tolerate sin? Does it also mean that the ones preaching tolerance should also be tolerant of Christian beliefs? What about the Christian belief in evangelism? I have found that many people stay in the comfort of tolerance so they don't have to do the uncomfortable thing we are really called to do.
Mark 16:15 "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'"
I don't see any ifs ands or buts in that instruction. The Bible is very clear about who we are meant to be and what we are meant to do. The Bible also talks about the people we will come into contact with.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
I'm not saying that we should not be friends with non-Christians. However, what Paul warns Timothy of sounds a lot like what we are going through as a culture. When people hold to a "form of godliness" but deny its power, doesn't that sound a lot like the people that ascribe to Agnostic ways of thinking? I have a few friends that fall in that department and who have become more and more resistant to talking about my faith. They preach tolerance but scoff at Christianity. If they were truly tolerant, they would tolerate evangelism as well, would they not? My heart breaks thinking that these people are so hard of heart that they will not even be curious about my faith when I am so willing to share it. Time and time again, my feelings are hurt when I am denied the chance to even talk about how wonderful Jesus is. However, I must be bold in the face of these trials.
Friendship is wonderful, but a friend who is not a Christian can dampen your spirit. I'm willing to "be the bad guy" as they see it and sacrifice my friendship if it means speaking the Truth. If it is God's will, it is well with my soul. I will continue to show love and attempt to live as Jesus did.
Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
God never promised that we would be accepted and loved and appreciated and glorified here on Earth. In fact, He promised the opposite. We will be persecuted, judged and suffer for the name of Jesus. Paul was frequently imprisoned, stoned, beaten and run quite literally out of town for his ministry. Yet he found joy in knowing that his reward would be great in heaven. Pour your heart out for the non-believers (including your non-Christian friends) so that you can fulfill your mission on Earth. They may abandon you and continue in the ways of the world. Never stop praying for them. We are to take the road not taken. Our instructions are clear.
Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."
We may not have much company in our mission to bring the Truth to this world, but we will reap the rewards in heaven for doing so. Don't lose heart, my friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment